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John Dayl

Update: There’s a special John Dayl tribute show on Saturday 11/10 from 7 to 9 PM MST (That’s GMT -7). Supposed to be streaming live on the KFNX web site.

It breaks our hearts to have to report on the death of radio host legend, John Dayl. He passed away peacefully in his sleep Sunday afternoon, November 4th.

We had just listened to John on Saturday and were thoroughly entertained by his talk of not much more than his trip to Idaho. He said he hadn’t kept up on anything political but if callers wanted to discuss something, fine. Nobody did, everybody was happy talking about Idaho along with John.

A great political mind and always kind to nervous listeners, Dayl was more than the cantankerous old man. Of course, that’s mostly what we’ll remember him for. He was fired from just about every local radio station in Phoenix, hired back by most of them. He had more fans than foes who could protest louder than the politically correct folks that wanted Dayl run out on a rail.

The last great story he told Saturday night was about his trip back from Idaho. He said he couldn’t do the long drive in one haul anymore, he was worn out. He stopped off in Vegas for a room. The woman “In her 30s, not an unnattractive woman..” told him that they only had the Jacuzzi Room for 285 dollars a night. John, and I wish you could hear his voice, said, “Honey, if they threw you into the jacuzzi with the room, I still wouldn’t pay 285 dollars a night.”
And he left.

A few nights later, he left us all for good. It was probably the only peaceful exit he ever made.

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3 thoughts on “John Dayl”

I LISTENED TO JOHN DAYL FOR MANY YEARS AS I AM AN AVID WALKER AND WOULD MAKE SURE I WAS OUT HOOFING IT WHEN HE CAME ON. HE WAS GREAT. ONE OF A KIND. I ONLY WISH I COULD HAVE MET THE MAN. REST WELL MR DAYL. THE CREEK HAS RISEN BUT WE WILL ALL SEE YOU AT SUNRISE.

It is a sad day as I was checking in on some of my favorite radio hosts from Phoenix and came across this site when trying to find out more about the passing of John. I grew up in Arizona. I graduated high school in Phoenix and enlisted in the Marine Corps therafter. I returned to Phoenix in 1990 in my return civilian life and became a fan of John Dayl’s radio show. As others have noted, John’s candor and his plain spoken approach was what kept me listening. His personality and that warm deep voice made me feel like I was listening to my grandfather tell stories. I moved away from Phoenix for good in 1994 and moved several times since, now (hopefully) permanently to Northern Wisconsin. I still check up on John and Bob and some of my other favorites. I wanted to share with you all the affection and remembrance of a truly gifted radio host. God Speed John!

I was a regular listener and caller to Conversation with John Dayl on KFNX. I miss his program very much, as it was the only radio program I made it a point to hear every weekend.

I have started a website called FansOfJohnDayl on Yahoo! Groups. I have posted a few comments about current events that I would have liked to have been able to discuss with John, and have posted some notes on some books, as well. Please feel free to visit